An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation. Jeremy Bentham , J. H. Burns , H. L. A. HartEssays on Bentham: Jurisprudence and Political Theory. H. L. A. Hart

Ethics ◽  
1984 ◽  
Vol 94 (2) ◽  
pp. 355-356
Author(s):  
Charles Silver
Keyword(s):  
Political Theory ◽  
Jeremy Bentham

The Bentham Edition

Politics ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 127-132
Author(s):  
F. Rosen
Keyword(s):  
Political Theory ◽  
Jeremy Bentham

Nearly a third of the 65-volume edition of The Collected Works of Jeremy Bentham has now been completed. How has it changed our understanding of Bentham's thought and his contribution to contemporary political theory?

Vigilance and Confidence: Jeremy Bentham, Publicity, and the Dialectic of Political Trust and Distrust

2017 ◽  
Vol 111 (2) ◽  
pp. 295-307 ◽  
Author(s):  
JONATHAN R. BRUNO
Keyword(s):  
Political Theory ◽  
Institutional Design ◽  
Political Trust ◽  
Democratic Politics ◽  
Jeremy Bentham ◽  
Public Authorities ◽  
Good Government ◽  
Novel Reading ◽  
Shed Light

Distrust of public authorities is a mainstay of democratic politics. In recent decades, however, concern with surging civic suspicion has led political scientists to emphasize the value of trust for good government. This article advances a novel reading of Jeremy Bentham's political theory to shed light on the promise and perils of these two dispositions. Trust and distrust go together, in Bentham's account. In making this case, I reexamine Bentham's reflections on publicity, and distinguish between two perspectives implicit in his theory—the perspective of institutional design, and the perspective of popular oversight. This distinction brings clarity to Bentham's surprising recommendation: sober distrust toward public authorities generally, together with particularized trust in those (and only those) institutions or officials who prove themselves worthy of it.

scholarly journals The political realism of Jeremy Bentham

2021 ◽  
pp. 147488512110015
Author(s):  
James Vitali
Keyword(s):  
Political Theory ◽  
Political Thought ◽  
Max Weber ◽  
The Political ◽  
Bernard Williams ◽  
Jeremy Bentham ◽  
Political Realism ◽  
Realistic Approach ◽  
Political Thinker ◽  
Unique Domain

Jeremy Bentham is usually seen as an anti-realist political thinker, or a proponent of what Bernard Williams has termed ‘political moralism’. This article questions that prevalent view and suggests instead that there are good grounds for considering Bentham a political realist. Bentham’s political thought has considerable commonalities with that of the sociologist and political realist Max Weber: both agree that politics is a unique domain of human activity defined by its association with power; that consequently, ethical conduct is unavoidably inflected by power in politics; that a commitment to truth in politics can only ever be contingent; and that politics has a set of basic conditions that it would be not only misguided but dangerous to attempt to transcend. Whilst it is often held that Bentham advanced a reductive framework for understanding politics, in fact, his utilitarianism was a far more realistic approach to political ends and means than has generally been acknowledged, and one that contemporary political theory realists would benefit from taking seriously.

Political Theory and Miscellaneous

1949 ◽  
Vol 43 (02) ◽  
pp. 399-402
Author(s):  
Harold F. Gosnell
Keyword(s):  
Political Theory

Kropotkin

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruth Kinna
Keyword(s):  
Political Theory ◽  
Human Nature ◽  
Political Change ◽  
Direct Action ◽  
The State ◽  
Social Analysis ◽  
Mutual Aid ◽  
Special Character ◽  
Revolutionary Politics

This book is designed to remove Peter Kropotkin from the framework of classical anarchism. By focusing attention on his theory of mutual aid, it argues that the classical framing distorts Kropotkin's political theory by associating it with a narrowly positivistic conception of science, a naively optimistic idea of human nature and a millenarian idea of revolution. Kropotkin's abiding concern with Russian revolutionary politics is the lens for this analysis. The argument is that his engagement with nihilism shaped his conception of science and that his expeditions in Siberia underpinned an approach to social analysis that was rooted in geography. Looking at Kropotkin's relationship with Elisée Reclus and Erico Malatesta and examining his critical appreciation of P-J. Proudhon, Michael Bakunin and Max Stirner, the study shows how he understood anarchist traditions and reveals the special character of his anarchist communism. His idea of the state as a colonising process and his contention that exploitation and oppression operate in global contexts is a key feature of this. Kropotkin's views about the role of theory in revolutionary practice show how he developed this critique of the state and capitalism to advance an idea of political change that combined the building of non-state alternatives through direct action and wilful disobedience. Against critics who argue that Kropotkin betrayed these principles in 1914, the book suggests that this controversial decision was consistent with his anarchism and that it reflected his judgment about the prospects of anarchistic revolution in Russia.

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